NEC Orders Recount in Electoral District # 4 in Bong County

The National Elections Commission (NEC), through its local office in upper Bong County, will on Tuesday, Nov. 21 conduct a recount in electoral district # 4 in Bong County.

According to the Senior Elections Magistrate for Upper Bong County, Daniel G. Newland, the recount will be conducted in nine (9) polling places in six (6) precincts in the District of the eighty-four (84) polling places.

Mr. Newland named the precincts numbers: Shankpalai Public School with code #06102, with polling places 1, 2 and 3; Nyensue Palava Hut, code #06088 with polling places 1 and 2; Kollieta Public School, code #06092 with polling place 2; Foequelleh Public School, code #06018 with polling place 1; Payeta Public School, code #06064 with polling place 2; and Bellemu Public School code #06008 with polling place 3.

The Upper Bong County Senior Elections Magistrate said immediately after the conduct of the October 10, elections, electoral district #4 incumbent representative Lester M. Paye and three-time defeated candidate Susannah Lorpu Mator filed separate complaints of elections irregularities to the NEC and hearings were conducted by the NEC hearing officer in NEC office in Gbarnga. Mator was defeated in the representative election of October 10, 2017, for which her complaint is registered. She also lost her representative bid in 2011 and 2005.

Mr. Newland said the two complainants, through their lawyers, prayed to the NEC for a rerun in the district due to the alleged irregularities but following legal arguments between the complainants and the NEC, it was concluded by the NEC hearing officer a rerun was not possible.

He explained that following the hearings, the two complainants appealed to the National Elections Commission Board of Commissioners (BoC) and the Board of Commissioners in its ruling called for a recount in nine polling places.

“Based on the BoC ruling and mandate, we will conduct a recount of nine polling places in electoral district #4 but the recount will be conducted at the NEC’s local office in Gbarnga beginning 9 in the morning,” Mr. Newland said.

He was swift to say that parties involved have been notified since the ruling was handed down by the BOC and local as well as international observers will be in attendance to witness the process.

Electoral District #4 has a total of 23,166 registered voters and recorded a total of 21,582 valid votes and 1,584 invalid votes among 14 representative candidates contesting, including the incumbent.

The Unity Party representative candidate Robert Flomo Womba was declared winner of the October 10 election in the district, after obtaining 4,232 votes accumulating 19.6%, while incumbent Representative Lester M. Paye of the Alternative National Congress (ANC) who took second place received 3, 471 votes (16.1%) and three-time defeated candidate of the United People’s Party (UPP), Susannah Lorpu Mator, received 3,179 (14.7%).

Representative-elect Robert Flomo Womba lauded the NEC for the decision for a recount, adding “let the NEC go ahead with the recount and the results will not change because my people voted me overwhelmingly for the kind of work I did for them when I was not eyeing this position.”

1 COMMENT

Okay, so a recount by the NEC is ordered in Bong county. Well, just a matter of curiosity……. ahh, didn’t the NEC say that voting went well the last time?

Hypotheticals……
If the voters in Nimba, Maryland, or elsewhere in Liberia claim that something stinky permeated the fresh air around their polling stations, what happens next? A recount?

If Brumskine and his supporters demand a nationwide recount, will he and his acolytes be denied? Why? Why not?

If Brumskine petitions the African Union as well as the United Nations and states that without doubt, there was widespread cheating during the October 10, should he be allowed to participate in the rerun or runoff?

Finally, if Johnson-Sirleaf gets upset at the NEC and tells the Liberian people bluntly that she’ll hold on to power for a 12-month period, will Brumskine approve of her request? Why not?
You as an individual may conclude that these hypotheticals are far-fetched or dimwitted or both. Well, that’s okay. You are entitled to your opinion, but anything can happen!

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